Alcoholism is a major public health problem that imposes an enormous burden on individuals, families, and communities. Over the past 50 years, an extensive body of evidence has accumulated showing that alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are lower among married compared to unmarried individuals. This phenomenon is known as the marriage effect (Bachman et al., 1997;Leonard &Rothbard, 1999). Four developmental processes have been identified that may underlie the marriage effect: 1. differential selection into marriage, whereby heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems may delay the onset of marriage;2. transition to marriage, whereby individuals decrease their alcohol involvement within 1-2 years of the onset of marriage;3. differential selection out of marriage, whereby heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems lead to marital dissolution;and 4. transition to divorce, whereby individuals increase their alcohol involvement following marital dissolution. All four mechanisms have received varying degrees of empirical support. Yet, the processes underlying the marriage effect remain poorly understood due to the lack of a conceptual framework that recognizes the developmental context of these transitions. Further, there have been relatively few large-scale epidemiologic studies that use the prospective designs necessary to model these various processes by following people over time. The goal of this project is to apply a developmental epidemiology framework to examine the longitudinal associations between marital status and alcohol involvement, and the degree to which these associations vary across the life course. Specifically, we will conduct secondary analyses of the 2001-2002 and 2004-2005 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a two-wave longitudinal and epidemiologic survey of a nationally representative sample of 43,093 adults ages 18 years and older, to address the following aims: Aim 1: To examine the association between alcohol involvement and selection into marriage. Aim 2: To examine the effects of the transition to marriage on subsequent alcohol involvement. Aim 3: To examine the association between alcohol involvement and marital dissolution. Aim 4: To examine the effects of the transition to divorce on subsequent alcohol involvement. Results from this project will inform prevention and intervention efforts by identifying (a) the specific dimensions of alcohol involvement that may be associated with marital onset (aim 1) and marital dissolution (aim 3), and (b) the specific effects of the transition to marriage (aim 2) and divorce (aim 4) on alcohol involvement. By testing several hypotheses about the marriage effect in a large nationally representative sample, this research will identify which processes are most protective against alcoholism, which dimensions of alcohol involvement are most harmful for the marital relationship, and the degree to which the associations between alcohol involvement and marital transitions vary across the life course. Results from this project may inform therapeutic efforts to reduce the risk of negative marital and individual-level outcomes. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems are lower among married compared to unmarried individuals. This project will examine the associations between alcohol use and alcohol use disorders and marital transitions (i.e., early marriage;divorce) in order to inform prevention and intervention efforts designed to reduce the risk of hazardous alcohol involvement and negative marital outcomes. Results from this study have important implications for reducing the enormous burden of alcoholism and divorce.